Thomas the Tank Engine: Un-Fair
by sineadkfoley
Summary: Short story: The late summer fair is one week away but someone is out to make sure it's cancelled when one by one James, Edward and Emily are targeted by mirrors to distract them and their drivers so items for the fair can be stolen. Milly must once again put on her detective hat and save the day


**Thomas the Tank Engine **

**Un-Fair!**

**Chapter One**

**James and the Flowers**

It was a bright and sunny day on Sodor but very windy, the late summer fair was to take place in less than a week and the railway was busier than ever,

"Unfortunately our supplies for the fair will be arriving bit by bit thanks to limited space on the ferries. James, I want you to go to the docks and collect the flowers to complete the garden displays, there will be a reward for the best desplay and this year Lady Hat is entering and I have purchased the best flowers available on the Mainland" The fat controller boomed with pride,

"Sir, what do I get if Lady Hat wins?" James asked, "A new lick of paint? Some new lights perhaps? My own branch line?"

"James, stop being so vein" Thomas said

"I am not, if Lady Hat wins I helped by collecting the flowers" James said

"In one piece" Purcy giggled

Thomas laughed,

"I can go slow if I want" James said

The trouble was James didn't _want_. When James arrived with his driver at the dock and saw that the flowers were encased in boxes and not exposed at the top he sort to go as fast as his engines would allow him.

The porters barely had time to lower the bars at one crossing and the fat controller lost his hat at the next,

"Slow down James!" He yelled out

Thomas was just coming to a junction when the hat landed on his funnel. Unsure what it was he blew it off as the fat controller arrived in his car,

"My hat!" He exclaimed

"Sorry sir! I didn't know it was your hat!" Thomas called,

"Oh" The fat controller mumbled, getting back into his car,

Further along the line the hat went flying into the path of Emily, who's vision was impared for a few seconds.

Emily screamed so her driver screeched on her breaks but couldn't get out of the cab to see what the matter might be for Edward was coming one way and James sped past the other.

"Slow down James!" Emily' driver called, when he could get down he saw the hat not lying on the floor, "Just a hat"

With that the driver tossed it so it landed in a truck being pulled by Purcy,

"That was my hat!" The fat controller bellowed from the window of his car,

"Oops" The driver said

"Purcy! Stop!" The fat controller called

Purcy screeched to a halt,

"What did I do sir?" He asked

"You have my hat in one of your trucks" The fat controller told him

"Do I?" Purcy asked in surprise, "How did it get there?"

"Oh" The fat controller sighed, "If my flowers aren't in one piece I will flatten James"

Poor Purcy took this literally,

"Oh...I must find Thomas! James is in trouble"

"James is always in trouble!" Thomas' driver Paul said

James was in more trouble than he could imagine, at the top of a hill James slammed his breaks, something had caught his eye. His driver slammed into his levers within the cab and dislodged the break pads.

"I can see myself at the bottom of the hill!" James cried

"Don't be so vein James, our breaks have failed, you're going to have to work with me here!" His driver yelled

"I agree but I really can see myself at the bottom of the hill sir!"

The stoker piered out,

"Oh good Lord! There's a mirror at the bottom of the hill!"

He jumped out of the cab while he could and as James fought to stop the stoker all but rolled down to where the mirror had been placed to move it out of the way.

James kept going but a call had been placed to Milly and Peggy up ahead to meet with buffers and a break down team.

Once James had been stopped with just a few scratches they could address the problem at hand. The fat controller was furious.

"You have caused confusion and delay!" He boomed, "At least my flowers are in one piece"

"It wasn't his fault sir" James' driver said

"He was way over the speed limit!"

"That's not why we're in this mess sir, the mirror up ahead is" James' driver said

"What?" Milly asked in shock.

The stoker arrived,

"He's right sir, someone put a mirror on the track, the breaks failed because James saw it from a distance, yes he was going too fast but the sudden stop threw us and the levers broke. I moved it ever so slightly, just enough to for it to not break"

James was left to feel sorry for himself as the stoker and James' driver went to show the fat controller and Milly the mirror, in Milly' train, Peggy.

While they were distracted by that James was robbed of all his flowers.

"I don't get it" Milly said

Thomas arrived beside James just as Milly, the fat controller, James' driver and the stoker arrived back,

"I'm going to miss you James" Thomas said teasingly

"What're you talking about?!" James demanded

"Purcy heard the fat controller say he'd flatten you if you lost his flowers" Thomas told him

"I haven't lost his flowers" James said in confusion

"I'm rather afraid you have" Milly said

"What?!" The fat controller said, realising this to be the case, "But they were here, in one piece, we all saw it"

"Yes and we were all distracted by a mirror on the track" Milly said, "Clearly an oppertunist"

"Get Victor out here"

"What about my scratches sir?" James asked

"Your breaks are more important"

"Oh" James sighed.

"What about the mirror? The theft? We should have all trains on this branch line on high alert" Milly said

**Chapter Two**

**Edward' Tunnel Vision**

The next morning the fat controller was very serious indeed,

"Lady Hat spent all night last night crying, all we have to go on is a trail of petals but as it was so windy yesterday that isn't going to help us find them" He said, "Now, without James your work load just increased, we have one less train to ferry passengers or stock for the fair, but as long as there are no more accidents or robberies we will be fine"

"Poor James...flattened" Purcy sobbed

"Purcy what on Earth are you talking about?" The fat controller asked

"Sir, Purcy heard you say you'd flatten James if your flowers weren't in one piece...he thought you flattened him" Thomas said

"It was a figure of speech Purcy. James was in an accident yesterday after someone put a mirror on the line to distract him from thieves, who stole the flowers"

Purcy gasped.

"That's terrible sir, is James alright?" Edward gasped

"He needs new breaks and has sustained damage to the levers" The fat controller said, "Be alert"

There was music along the lines of duh, duh, duh!

The fat controller looked to the left and frowned at the band practicing in the shed nearby. Paul and Milly laughed and then Thomas laughed and then Purcy laughed.

Later that day Edward was moved onto James' line after picking up some candles for the Sodor fair. He went slow and steady, he could hear rattling in the crates on the flat bed at the end of his train of trucks.

"Are they made of glass?" Edward called to his driver

"No but you do have glass bottles one down, remain at this speed for now Edward, there's a chap" The driver called back

"Where's a chap?" Edward asked confused by this figure of speech

"What?" His driver asked, at that moment he answered a call on the phone, "Yes?"

"Hello, this is control, we're going to have to switch tracks manually, the tunnel you are about to approach goes two ways, one is a dead end" Came a voice on the other line

"Right, we'll wait here for a signal" The driver said

"Signal?" Asked a now confused voice, "Oh right yes, one ring for go!"

"What the...?" The driver looked at the stoker

"Must be new" Edward' stoker said

Edward frowned. They'd been stationary for almost half an hour now. His driver was just about to call the fat controller when the phone rang once.

Edward' driver had Edward roll forward and into the tunnel they went.

Edward couldn't understand why he couldn't see the other end of the tunnel, just a light, that's all he could see,

"Sir! I think there's another train in here! Coming the other way!" Edward screeched

Edward stopped, closed his eyes and prepared for impact but it didn't come,

"They've stopped too!" Edward' stoker said

"No, no, no, that's a mirror!" Edward' driver said angry, "We've been tricked! Quickly now back up!" He said, climbing back abaord.

However as they did that part of the tunnel collapsed,

Edward screwed up his face and cried out,

"We're alright Edward, no one was hurt...this time but how are we getting out of here?" His driver said

"Sir, I could whistle!" Edward said trying to compose himself

"That's all we've got, there's no signal in a tunnel" Edward' driver said

"Is the other end of this tunnel completely blocked off?" The stoker asked

"Please don't leave me" Edward cried

"Move that mirror off the track and uncouple Edward, we'll go together" Edward' driver said

It took some doing but with the driver' help the stoker moved the mirror out of the way, they uncoupled a scared Edward and drove at a snails pace around the corner of the tunnel until they ran out of track. The stoker realised there was a gap wide enough for him to get though and he clambered out and went for help.

The fat controller was surprised,

"He's what? In a tunnel...a collapes!"

Milly was with him in the office and immediately got on the phone to the rescue team.

"We need a rescue team to the abandoned tunnel on James' line, Edward and his driver are stuck, the tunnel has collapsed"

Milly suited up and climbed into the tunnel,

"Careful" Said a fireman

"Where is the collapse?" She asked

"Further ahead" The fireman told her

"I have some bad news for the fat controller...Edward was hauling some candles. Well, it seems the candles have been stolen, the only bit of this train not in this section of the tunnel" A second fireman called

"Oh no...the driver, the stoker, Edward, they're OK that's what's important here...but how did this happen? This tunnel has been closed for years"

"Milly, I think I may be able to asnwer that" Edward said

"Oh?" Milly asked

"There was a mirror there, I thought it was another train"

"Another mirror?" Milly said in surprise, "How did you end up in this tunnel?"

"Oh, the controller at the nearby station called, said he needed to change our track manually" Edward said

"Really?"

"Is there any way of tracing the call Milly?" The fat controller asked

"No but we can certainly question the team in the signal box further ahead" Milly said

"Tell them about the chap" Edward said, "You said, there's a chap"

"It was a figure of speech Edward, I was giving you a compliment" His driver told him

Milly smiled.

Further along the track at the signal box Milly discovered that the two men had been tied up together,

"What happened?" Milly asked as she untied them,

"We're fine, it was two men, they said they needed candles and were sent here to intercept a blue train with a posh accent" One man said

"They then had us call the train to say we needed to alter the track but you can't, there's no track so they did the calling and said they would alter things manually, no idea how" The second man said

"What is going on around here?" Milly sighed

**Chapter Three**

**Emily on the Wrong Track**

The next morning at Tidmouth Sheds the fat controller struck a very serious pose. He was two trains down. The colapse in the tunnel had damaged several troublesome trucks, forcing them forward and denting Edward quite badly,

"Edward is out of action for repairs, Milly I am taking you off the rota, I want you to find out what is going on with the mirrors and, what these peoeple could possibly want with a flatbed of candles and bottles and my flower crates" The fat controller said

"Yes Uncle" Milly said

"Emily, I am trusting you with the cake mix ordered by the factory, please make sure it gets there on time and if you see any mirrors...reverse and fast!" The fat controller ordered, "The fair is in three days and we're running out of things to display or sell"

At the shed James was being cared for but he felt very sorry for himself,

"Come on now James, this isn't like you, you're getting a new coat of paint today and your new breaks and levers are ready, you like being pampered" A porter said

"It wasn't my fault" James said, "I'm a train, I can't look behind"

"We know that James"

"But it is my fault, if I hadn't being going so fast and stopped by the mirror..." James begain

"They would have still robbed the train" Edward said

"Huh? Edward? Is that you? What're you doing here?" James asked in surprise

James' was turned 80 degrees so he could see Edward,

"The same reason you're here, I was tricked by a mirror, my line switched and I ended up in a tunnel with only some of it's track. The tunnel caved in but my flatbed was exposed so the theive stole the candles and bottles for the fair, I was dented quite badly by the troublsesome trucks" Edward told him

"That wasn't our fault!" One yelled across

"I am not blaming I am explaining, there is a difference" Edward said calmly, "With the driver and the stoker distracted by the mirror the theives would have still taken the fat controller' flowers James. Now enjoy your day off and the pampering you do deserve for once"

James sighed and smiled,

"Thanks Edward...and I'm sorry you got hurt"

"Oh that's alright, I just hope there aren't anymore accidents or the fair will have to be cancelled" Edward said

Milly went to the police station at Tidmouth to ask about the mirrors and the interview they did with the two signalmen that were tied up,

"Who exactly are you again?" The stiff lady officer asked

"Milly, dective from the mainland" She said, giving her, her ID, "I'm not retired, I just switched to the railway after an eventful vacation"

"Oh" The officer said, "I'm sorry. Forgive my rudeness. The signalmen didn't make a positive ID, however they did say they're voices were posh and very apologetic"

"So they didn't want to do the robberies at all?"

"Does this help in any way?"

"Hmm, perhaps, in some small way...what about the mirrors?"

"Too many smudges" The officer told her

"Thank you anyway" Milly said and with that she left

Meanwhile Emily had picked up all the supplies the bakery were going to need for the cakes but she was very nervous today and edgy about anyone who wasn't her driver or her stoker,

"Alright Emily, we'll need to be careful, we're on Thomas' track today, there're are works going on so we may end up on the same side at some point" Her driver told her.

A call came through to tell Emily' driver that Thomas was delayed and Emily could speed up a little.

This was a trick,

Emily sped up just round the corner of yet another mirror, her breaks were slammed, the vibration kocked the mirror, which switched track to a siding, but Emily couldn't slow down quick enough and slammed into the buffers. Flower, eggs, milk bottles and sugar flew up into the air and showered everyone and everything, including Thomas and Paul,

"Emily!" Thomas cried, "Another Mirror Paul!"

"I see it" Paul said

A crowd gathered,

"I thought you'd been delayed, we got a call to say as much" Emily' driver said as the fat controller and Milly arrived on scene,

"Oh dear!" Emily sighed, "No robbery today but there won't be any cakes for the fair now either"

Milly frowned,

"No one touches that mirror!"

"Did you get anything from the police?" Paul asked

"Just that. Whoever this is has a posh accent and doesn't want to do the crime at all...stop everyone from leaving this station. I have a feeling these people aren't from Sodor at all"

**Chapter Four**

**Thomas gets Train-Nabbed**

Without telling anyone why the station nearby was cordened off and no one was allowed to leave. Purcy was waiting to disembark but had been told by Millie to stay where he was? And police entered his carriages to speak to the passengers on board.

While they were distracted with this someone climbed up into Thomas' cab and took him away, through the station, slamming into poor Purcy, frightening the passengers and gaining speed as he went until he could ditch poor Purcy.

"Millie!" Paul called

"I know!" Milly said, "Come with me!" Milly went round to the nearby shed and hailed the porters nearby, "Masters, is James ready for running?"

"Just about, we need to paint him" The porter named Masters said

"No time for that! Thomas has been Train-nabbed, I need the fasted engine on Sodor!" Milly said

James beamed,

"Let's go!"

James, Milly and Paul gave chase. James really was the fastest engine on Sodor because of his size and it wasn't long before they had caught up to Thomas and his captive.

Thomas was screaming,

"Help! Help!"

"Give it up!" Milly yelled, "You won't get away with this!"

"Where do you think you're going!?" Paul yelled

"I don't know!"

James pulled back,

"James?" Milly asked

"Thomas is running out of coal. We need to make sure there is none for the man in Thomas' cab to take to fill up" James said

"Oh you clever little engine!" Milly said

James sped up again but took his own track line and short cuts to every coal station on Thomas' route. He'd fill the waiting and empty trucks and hide them, then go on to the next one and the next. Until word reached them that Thomas had stopped.

James doubled backed, using a turn table at the castle to find Thomas.

Police had the new location and the man, who took Thomas was now on foot, trying to out-run a the chopper and the dog from the nearby farm, who thought this a game.

The man gave up just shy of Tidmouth and was arrested.

Poor thomas was so puffed out and red in the face when James arrived with Paul and Milly.

"The coal was gone from two posts" Thomas said

"I did that" James beamed, "I couldn't let him get away, we need you Thomas"

"Awe that's sweet of you James" Thomas blushed, "You saved me"

A little while later the fat controller was at the station where the man, who stole Thomas was being questioned,

"What I want to know is why?" He asked

"It wasn't me!" The man said, "I didn't want to do this, it was the Mayer of Hanes!"

"The Mayer of Hanes? What on Earth has he to do with my trains?" The fat controller boomed,

"One of your trains broke down...Sofie her name was, the delays she caused meant we had to cancel our fair" The man said

"So you thought you could just go ahead and ruin ours?! Not only have you caused confusion and delay but you damanged my trains, dented their confidence, put my drivers in real danger and" The fat controller boomed,

"I'm sorry!" The man said, "The Mayer takes things to heart seen as we depend on tourists...we lost money"

"There is more to life than money!" The fat cotroller said, "My trains mean more, they mean everything and so do my drivers and the people I share this island with"

"Do you want to press charges?" The officer asked

"No, if he and the Mayer help us make this the best fair we've ever had then I will do the same for him"

Milly grinned proudly at her Uncle.

And it was so, Sodor had wonderful fair, that the people of Hanes travelled over from the mainland to attend and in return the people of Sodor went across to the mainland and enjoyed the festivities of the Hanes fair.

Even Thomas, James, Edward, Purcy, Emily, Henry, Peggy and Toby attended and offered free rides for the children of Hanes.

Everyone had a wonderful time and made some new friends.

"James" Purcy said, "I'm glad the fat controller decided not to flatten you after all"

James looked at Thomas, who laughed, then James laughed too,

"So am I Purcy, so am I

**The End**


End file.
